KDs are designed/developed/inspired/mused/auto-suggested/indigested to make folks think; an especially uncommon experience among Democrats, Republicans, and jingoistic mainline denominationalists who continue to discourage dissent with their ever-threatening thought police.

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Thursday, February 25, 2016

"An Indianapolis cousin of mine, who was also a high
school classmate,

did very badly at the University of Michigan

while I did badly at Cornell.

His father asked him what the trouble was,

and he made an admirable reply:

'Don't you know, Father?

I'm dumb!'

It was the truth."

Kurt Vonnegut

@#$%

@#$%

So many years and
rebirths ago, I was eating with ___ and our wives at the Holiday Inn near McMurray,
Pennsylvania a few hours before he spoke at the church.

He's the most
inspirational speaker that I've ever heard.

If I didn't want
to keep confidentiality, I'd reveal his name so you could google some of his
speeches.

Anyway, he said
Bill is among the most intelligent and authentically caring people that he's
ever met; but he does have a weakness for willing women...any of 'em...all of
'em...insatiable appetite for 'em.

When it comes to
Mrs. Clinton, he said she is vulgar, mean, nasty, vindictive, untrustworthy, a
pathological liar, arrogant, condescending, selfish, and a poster child for the
b-word.

He also said,
"One of my favorite things is to hear people who think they're sooooooo smart say such
stupid things."

I thought about
that conversation the other day while wondering, "How in the name of
anything but heaven is she gonna get the nomination for President and maybe
even take the oath?"

Are American
voters thaaaaaaat stupid?

Uh, yeah!

Look at the last
two!

That's when I
remembered Vonnegut's comment in one of my favorite books: Palm Sunday.

It would be prudent for GOP crackers
to concede America has yellows, reds, browns, and blacks too.

He is the most reasonable on immigration,
national defense, and...cuisine.

Great choice to
prove Republicans aren't just about rich WASPs; and most polls have him beating
wazzhername.

No chance.

No Ben.

No Marco.

Too nice for
America.

It's gonna be
Donald or Hillary.

Yep, Americans
are thaaaaaaat stupid.

@#$%

Hillary.

I know we're in a
rush to elect a woman; but, geez,
gulp, sigh, gasp... Is she reallllllly
the best her gender has to offer? Are women that desperate
for the keys to the White House?

Donald.

O.K., I know
people are ___ed off. Quoting from Network,
people are "mad as hell and not going to take it
anymore!" But, reallllllly,
Donald?

Hillary is a
pathological liar.

Donald is
pathologically arrogant.

Question.

Knowing Americans
are thiiiiiiis stupid,
would we rather have a pathological liar or someone who is pathologically
arrogant as President?

Hell of a choice.

Literally.

@#$%

I've got to ask!

Are these reallllllly the two best whatevers that we've got
for the most powerful position on the planet?

I know we've been
on a losing streak in these elections; but for
Christ's sake...

President Trump?

President Grammy
Clinton?

Before hanging
that chad, puuuuuuuhleeeeeeease
ask some questions.

Who's better for
America?

Who's more stuck
on her/himself?

Do you have any
clue what they reallllllly believe?

Feel lucky?

Feel predestined?

Is she really an
advocate for women's or anybody's
rights?

"C'mon,
ladies, settle down!"

That's from Les Miserables for the
ignorant who will probably vote for...

How can anybody
say she is an advocate for anybody's rights with a straight face when she
enabled a serial sexual predator and led "Bill's Bimbo Squad" to
destroy the lives of so many of his conquests?

Why would anybody
buy that "I'm a Presbyterian" stuff from Donald?

What does he mean
by that?

Unless somebody
just cooked the books, ain't no record of membership, attendance, tithing,...in
any Presbyterian Church in the USA.

If he is a
Presbyterian, is that a good thing?

Think about it.

Dying
denomination.

Is that the kinda
religionist that we want to run the country?

Al
Sharpton. Al
Sharpton!!!!!!!???????

Do we really
want a President who bends...for such a race-hater-baiter?

Corrective
combing.

How can I trust
him to be honest about big stuff when he can't even be honest about
his hairline?

Do we want a
Commander-in-Chief who plays politics and cyberspace games with lives?

Doesn't anybody
care how she and her boss enabled the deaths of American patriots around the
globe so they'd be liked by Islamofascistnutballs?

Flip-flop-flip-flop-flip-flop-flip-flop.

Yeah, we evolve
if we're alive; but thaaaaaaat
much thaaaaaaat often?

Are Americans thhhhhhhhiiiiiiisssssss stupid?

I guess so.

@#$%

Getting back to
___ and stupid people.

I was standing in
front of the communion table with Stimp, a great associate who I didn't
appreciate enough because I was too into myself to notice him, a long time ago
in North Carolina on an early Sunday morning. A florist came in and
asked, "How should I arrange the flowers for you?" We looked at
each other, Stimp laughed, and I said, "Well, brother, what did they say
about this in our seminary floral arranging class?" The florist
didn't laugh...or get it.

There was a big
party in the church in Kansas City to honor somebody about something. I'm
asked in a very professional and serious kinda way, "Dr. Kopp, what kind
of decorations do you think we should have? How about the colors?
Should we have candles or flowers or both at the tables? Desserts.
What do you think...?" I said nothing. She said nothing; but got it.

Now go back to
Vonnegut's quote.

Now think of how
we're gonna get Donald or Hillary as the next President of the USA.

@#$%

I see only one
way out of this mess.

Tailor in Fiddler: "Wouldn't
this be a good time for the Messiah to come?"

Monday, February 22, 2016

Retirement

As you pray, reflect, and consult about it,
you may want to factor some things into your decision.

Biblical Principles of Work/Vocation/Call

There are no explicit guidelines for
retirement in the Bible.

I don’t know why for sure.

However, I can speculate.

Retirement is a recent luxury of wealthy
civilizations: work hard, save up, quit/retire, and then, uh, do whatever you’d
rather do because you don’t really like what you’re doing or aren’t able to do
it anymore.

If a person is doing what God has called her or him to do
and remains able regardless of age, she or he is happy doing what God has
called her or him to do and retirement is not on the radar.

Really, if you’re doing a good job and like doing it and
don’t have anything better to do by God’s providence and gifting, why in the
name of anything but heaven would you quit/retire?

Assuming God breathed knowledge and wisdom into Paul, he
said, “To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Succinctly, our work/vocation/call honors God by helping
people; or as Jesus emphasized, “As you do it for them, you do it for Me.”

Paul also wrote, “We each have different work to do. We belong to each other; and each needs all
of the others.”

It’s axiomatic: the whole is equal to the sum of its
parts. God has made us dependent upon
Him; and that dependence upon Him is reflected in our interdependence upon each
other by His design and gifting.

When It’s Time to Quit/Retire

Admittedly, some people who can’t stand/stomach their jobs
can’t quit/retire because they can’t afford to quit/retire.

Bills have to be paid; and lottery tickets or trusting
governments to take care of our needs are not good retirement plans.

If you don’t like what you are doing and have saved up
enough to cover future costs of living so that you really don’t have to do it
and dread showing up to do it and are consistently cranky, contentious,
contemptuous, counter-productive, and complaining about what you are doing,
then don’t do it anymore! Quit! Retire!
You will be happier along with the people who are the targets of your
transference.

If you don’t have to do what you’re doing, quit, retire,
and sing, “Take this job and shove it! I
ain’t workin’ here no more!”

Life is short.

If you don’t like what you’re doing and don’t have to do
it to survive, quit/retire!

Life is short.

If you like what you’re doing and can still do it and
don’t have anything better in mind, why quit/retire?

Quitting/retiring makes no sense if you don’t have
something to do that you’re called to do and want to do for God’s sake.

People who quit/retire with nothing better to do usually
end up listless, lifeless, aimless, and miserable; singing with John Cougar,
“Oh yeah, life goes on long after the thrill of livin’ is gone.”

That’s why Mark Twain quipped, “The two most important
days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

If you know who and what God has called you to be and do and
never quit/retire from it, you will be happy, strong, calm,
peace-filled/overflowing, and joyful until your last breath.

When I was in 8th grade, a high school senior
wrote this in my yearbook: “May you live as long as you want to and want to
as long as you live.”

Quit/retire from doing what you don’t want to do if you’ve
saved up enough to quit/retire.

If you like what you’re doing and can still do it, then
don’t quit/retire for God’s sake.

If you’re still whistling not whining while you work,
don’t quit/retire!